Sprinkles kick off barrage of storms forecast to slam Bay Area

The Bay Area is predicted to see up to half an inch of rain on Thursday, forecasters said.

The Bay Area is predicted to see up to half an inch of rain on Thursday, forecasters said.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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The Bay Area is predicted to see up to half an inch of rain on Thursday, forecasters said.

The Bay Area is predicted to see up to half an inch of rain on Thursday, forecasters said.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Sprinkles kick off barrage of storms forecast to slam Bay Area

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The Bay Area will begin to see rain starting Thursday morning as a series of storms are lining up for parade of precipitation expected to stretch into next week, forecasters said.

The region was already seeing drips early Thursday and will continue to get light rain off and on throughout the day, according to Diane Henderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. By the end of Thursday, parts of the Bay Area could see up to a half an inch of precipitation.

The more substantial storm, however, will come Saturday afternoon when heavy rains and blustery winds are predicted, according to Henderson.

The weekend storm should bring up to six inches in the higher elevations, another two to four in the North Bay and up to two inches in the San Francisco area, Henderson said.

The storm should also bring much-needed snow to the Lake Tahoe region — up to three feet in three days starting Saturday.

The storms arrive after a mostly dry February, in which San Francisco saw just 22 percent of the rainfall it normally gets.